the shield

A mystical welding of metal, hammering and shaping it into a circular form, sturdy enough to withstand even the sharpest sword if placed in the proper position. Sweat and blood, maybe even tears, trying to use heat hot enough to melt the metal into the correct form. A laborer, one who desires perfection but understands the battles that will soon come, works long and laboriously to craft a hefty shield, one of protection. A shield that will endure throughout time. A shield that will become a warrior’s most intimate ally. And so it must be made with the most careful precision, for every warrior is different. Every warrior faces battle in her own way. Battle comes to everyone, for sure, but the shield – it is a trusty defense that reflects the very heart of the one wielding it in battle. Both its size and its depth, its strength and its height, speak of the trust the warrior places in such a magnificent weapon. For a shield is part of the armor as a whole, but it goes before the warrior, who carries it majestically, knowing that it can withstand and deflect even the sharpest arrow, even the most maliciously aimed thrust from the enemy. The confidence with which a warrior carries her shield, no matter how strong the warrior herself is, means life or death. With the shield comes a power greater than the warrior herself. In the shield, in the power of the shield, a warrior shows forth her inner soul, her most intimate desires to walk forward into victory. For a warrior, her shield is her protection, her refuge, her faith.